Tax Havens Today: The Benefits and Pitfalls of Banking and Investing Offshore

Preface ix

PART ONE THE OFFSHORE CONTROVERSY 1

1. Why Are so Many People Going Offshore? 3

2. Whipping the Taxpayers into Shape 7

3. The Big Squeeze 10

4. The Changing World of Tax Havens 15

5. The International Dragnet 18

6. The Global Laundromat 21

7. The Tax Police 23

8. Barbarians at the Gate 26

PART TWO BUILDING A SOLID OFFSHORE FINANCIAL FORTRESS 31

9. The Benefits of Going Offshore 33

10. Best Strategies for Going Offshore: Personal and Financial Lifestyle Changes 35

11. Expatriating 37

12. The $80,000 Annual Loophole 39

13. New Citizenship and Renouncing Your U.S. Citizenship 42

14. Eight Ways to Sunday 44

15. T-7 Tax Havens: The Green List of the World’s Best Offshore Havens 48

16. Selecting the Best Tax Haven for Your Plans 54

17. Establishing an Offshore Presence without Leaving Home 61

18. Offshore Business Structures 63

19. Secrets of Offshore Banking 73

20. Offshore Financial and Investment Strategies 81

21. Offshore Estate Planning 89

22. The Swiss Angle 97

23. Placing Your Assets Offshore and Avoiding Fraudulent Transfers 105

24. Offshore Business 107

25. International Tax Planning 110

26. Offshore Privacy 117

27. Offshore Caveat 119

PART THREE TODAY’S TAX HAVENS 121

28. Tax Information Exchange Agreements 127

29. Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty 129

30. Profiles of Tax Havens 131

Andorra, 131

Anguilla, 133

Antigua and Barbuda, 135

Aruba, 136

Austria, 138

The Bahamas, 140

Bahrain, 143

Barbados, 143

Belize, 146

Bermuda, 147

British Virgin Islands, 151

Brunei Darussalam, 154

Campione (Italy), 155

Cayman Islands, 158

Channel Islands—Guernsey, 162

Channel Islands—Jersey, 166

Cook Islands, 171

Cyprus, 173

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 177

Gibraltar, 179

Grenada, 182

Hong Kong, China, 183

Isle of Man, 187

Labuan, Malaysia, 192

Liechtenstein, 194

Luxembourg, 197

Madeira, 200

Malta, 202

Mauritius, 206

Monaco, 209

The Netherlands, 211

The Netherlands Antilles, 214

Panama, 217

Saint Kitts and Nevis, 220

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 221

Seychelles, 224

Switzerland, 225

Turks and Caicos, 229

Vanuatu, 231

Western Samoa, 235

PART FOUR RESOURCES—THE BIG PICTURE 237

Offshore Citizenship and Retirement Opportunities 239

Dominica 239

Saint Kitts and Nevis 240

Profiles of Retirement Havens and Foreign Residency: Andorra, Argentina, Austria, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Campione (Italy), Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Monaco, The Netherlands, Panama, Portugal, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Switzerland, Turks and Caicos, United Kingdom, Uruguay 241

More Countries to Investigate 254

Travel Destinations 263

Offshore Reading 264

Offshore Reference Works 264

Newsletters 265

Travel Books 267

Travel Bookstores and Map Dealers 267

Travel Information 267

Financial Information and Business Opportunities 268

Bank Resources 269

Antisurveillance and Privacy Sources 269

Books of Interest 270

Publishers of Unusual Books and Hard-to-Find Information 271

Periodicals 272

Real Estate 272

Expat Information 272

Expat Books 273

Retirement Resources 273

Health Insurance for Expatriates and Travelers 273

Organizations 274

Government Web Sites 275

Financial and Investment Services 275

Immigration Services 279

Tax Problems 280

Worldwide Serviced Offices 280

Global Mail Drops 281

International English Language Newspapers 281

Online Resources 281

Government Publications 281

Offshore Dossier 281

Offshore Evaluation Service 282

Offshore Financial Services 282

Appendix 283

About the Author 316

Index 317